We are a Jigsaw Puzzle
by sinceresapphire
Summary: Trip has decided its time to bring Skye home to meet his family at Christmas. (Sequel to Christmas You and Me)
1. Trip has Been Thinking

Disclaimer: I don't own AoS

Sequel to Christmas You and Me.

* * *

><p>Skye was nibbling on a Christmas cookie and surfing the internet when her boyfriend came into the living room and joined her on the couch.<p>

"Hey babe, what's up?"

Trip draped an arm around her shoulder and pulled her close then kissed her forehead.

"So I was thinking….."

"Need some aspirin?"

The only response that she got was an unimpressed look.

"As I was saying, I've been thinking that it's about time you meet my family."

At the mention of meeting his family, Skye froze. She never met any of her old boyfriends' families before and she was terrified. Then she looked over at Trip and saw the hopeful look in his eyes, it was enough to melt her resistance.

"Okay but I'm not making any promises that they won't hate me."

The grin was worth it.

"They won't hate you. They will love you almost as much as I do."

Something about the way her boyfriend said it, made her feel better. However, she was still scared that he would be wrong then he'd leave her because she knows his family is everything to him.

xxx

Packing to meet her boyfriend's family is enough to send any woman into a panic but when it's the holidays? – Skye was incredibly nervous about this. Somehow, when she agreed, she didn't think about what she'd have to wear to make a good impression on the Tripletts and Joneses.

As a result, she was tearing her wardrobe apart and feeling hopeless.

"Hey, hey, hey…you'll look great whatever you wear. You know I am low-key, so is the rest of my family."

Trip took the shirt out of her hands and tossed it aside. Then he cupped her face, stroking her cheek with his thumb.

"You have nothing to worry about. I love you and they know that. In fact, they've wanted to meet you for awhile. I just wasn't you would want to, Skye."

Seeing the expression on his face, she pulled him down for a kiss.

"How did I get so lucky to find someone who loves me as much as you do?"

"We've both gotten lucky, sweetheart."

"I'm still nervous though."

Trip smiled at his girlfriend as he realized something.

"You know, that tells me that this is important to you and I really like that."

The brunette couldn't resist kissing him again.

"Alright, let's get you packed, our room cleaned up then get something to eat."

Skye nodded and in half an hour her bag was packed then the couple was eating some pizza while enjoying each other's company.

xxx

Three days later, Skye found herself standing on the doorstep of the Triplett/Jones household. In mere moments, she would meet his parents. The brunette tugged at the coat she was wearing when her boyfriend grabbed her hand and squeezed it.

"Sweetheart, you have nothing to worry about."

Before she could reply, the door opened.

"Antoine Triplett! About time you showed up. Now come give your mother a hug."

Trip let go of her hand then grinned as he moved to give his mother a hug.

As she watched her boyfriend, she couldn't help smiling because even though her boyfriend towered over his mother, the respect and love was clear as day.

"Now, this lovely woman must be Skye. I'm disappointed that you waited so long to bring her around, Antoine."

Trip's mother was gorgeous and it was clear where he got his smile and warmth from. She approached the brunette with her arms open for a hug. Skye couldn't resist.

"It's wonderful to meet you, Mrs. Triplett."

"None of that…I'm Glenda, dear. Come in and let's get you settled. Antoine can bring your bags up to your room."

Her boyfriend gave his mother a look.

"Don't look at me like that, Antoine Triplett. I may be getting up there but I'm no fool."

Skye couldn't help giggling at her boyfriend's facial expression to his mother's statement. Maybe, this trip wouldn't be so bad after all.


	2. Getting to Know Mr and Mrs Triplett

**Disclaimer: **I don't own AoS

* * *

><p>Following Glenda upstairs to the room she'll be staying in, Skye couldn't help pausing to admire the photographs on the wall. Her boyfriend was a cute kid growing up.<p>

"If you want to see some more, we can pull out the photo albums later."

Skye smiled and Trip's mother returned it.

"I'd love that."

"Wonderful. We can send Antoine off with his father so we can enjoy looking at the pictures and not listen to his whining."

Her boyfriend liked to come off as chill but it seems like she found his Achilles heel.

"What are you two talking about here on the stairs?"

The brunette looked over her shoulder and saw Trip heading up the stairs with their bags.

"Nothing you need to concern yourself, young man."

The trio continued up the stairs then down the hall to Trip's old bed room.

Skye stepped into the room and looked around; not completely surprised by the décor as there were similar touches in their apartment.

"I'll let you two get settled in but Antoine, I'll expect you downstairs to set the table."

"Yes ma'am."

He grinned at his mother as she left the room then turned his attention to his girlfriend.

"So, you gonna tell me what you were talking about?"

Her lips formed into a smirk as Skye shook her head.

"Sorry but that's privileged information."

Trip quickly closed the distance between them, wrapping his arms around her waist before leaning his forehand against hers.

"Well…we have ways of making people talk."

Leaning in closer, he kissed her deeply but without a need to rush.

"Mmm…good attempt but I think I'll keep the conversation to myself."

Pulling away, Skye couldn't help chuckling at her boyfriend's expression.

"Come on, I don't want to ruin my first impression with your mother by her thinking I'm up here having my wicked way with her precious little boy."

Trip's eyes widened then he licked his lips, showing how much he liked the suggestion. Reaching out, he tried to pull her back into him.

"Save it for when we get home, lover boy."

He sighed.

"This is going to be a long few days."

Laughing, Skye grabbed his hand then pulled him out of the room.

While Trip was busy setting the table for dinner, Skye wandered into the kitchen to see if there was anything she could do to help.

"Thanks sweetpea but the meal's practically ready to go once my husband gets home. How about you get yourself and Antoine something to drink from the fridge."

Skye walked over and pulled out the pitcher of ice tea. Looking around, she smiled when Glenda pointed out the cabinet that held the glasses then grabbed two. She saw an almost empty glass of ice tea on the counter.

"Would you like some more ice tea, Glenda?"

"Yes, thank you. Why don't you take your drinks out to the dining room and send my son in here to help carry the food."

The brunette refilled her glass, put the pitcher away then did as instructed.

"Hey Trip, your mom…."

"….wants me to help carry in the food," he interrupted with a smile.

Nodding her head, she pecked his cheek then placed their glasses down on the table.

"Now, this lovely lady kissing on my son must be the wonderful Skye Antoine has told me so much about."

The sudden voice caused Skye to look up. She saw a tall male the splitting image of her boyfriend standing there.

"Uh, yeah. I'm Skye. You must be Mr. Triplett, it's nice to meet you, sir."

Trip's father made his way over to her and held out his hand to shake with a warm smile on his face.

"Benjamin Triplett, please call me Ben. My son's told my wife and I so much about you that it already feels like you're part of the family."

The brunette shook his hand, relieved that Trip's father seemed just as nice as his mother.

They're interrupted by the other two Tripletts bringing in the food.

"Hey dad, I see that you met Skye."

"Indeed, and I'm looking forward to getting to know her better."

"Alright, enough of this standing around. Everyone take your seat."

Glenda clapped her hands and the others did what she wanted.

From what Skye could see, the food looked delicious and she couldn't wait to try the home cooked meal.

The dishes were passed around the table as chicken, potatoes, brussel sprouts and bread were dished out onto the individual plates. The sounds of people eating were the only things heard for a few minutes.

"All of this is delicious, Glenda"

"Thank you dear. I do enjoy cooking for the people I love."

"So, my son tells us you were in the foster care system as a child."

Skye nodded at Ben's comment.

"From the first day that I could remember until the day I turned eighteen."

Trip gave his father a look which was ignored and caused his girlfriend to smile at him, that it was fine as she's made peace with her childhood.

The dinner passed with ease and the brunette felt her comfort with the Tripletts grow as the minutes passed.

"So when Antoine was five years old, he went through this phase where he refused to wear clothes at home. We could get him into them when we had to go out but the moment we get back home, he was out of them faster than someone getting out of a burning building. It didn't matter if we had company over or not."

Skye couldn't help laughing at the story her boyfriend's father was telling and at the expression on Trip's face.

Trip's parents were everything that she thought they would be like. Of course, she shouldn't have been so surprised because of their son, the man she fell in love with. Skye was looking forward to spending the holiday with them and the rest of their family. Maybe, one day they will be hers too.


	3. Family that Teases, Loves

**_Disclaimer: I don't own AoS_**

Dinner was fantastic and Skye couldn't remember laughing so much; whether it was at the stories told or her boyfriend's face, was anyone's guess. The table was cleared and dishes where done by the brunette and Trip.

Once they were done, the quartet retired into the living room.

"Ben dear, I realized that I forgot to pick up a few ingredients for one of the appetizers I'm making for the party. Would you mind going out and picking them up?"

"Of course not, darling. Antoine, why don't you come with me and let the ladies get better acquainted."

Trip looked between his parents with a suspicious look before looking at his girlfriend, who gave him a reassuring smile.

"Sure, dad. I could probably do with picking up a few things myself."

The two men left the house after kissing their ladies goodbye.

Glenda grinned at her potential daughter-in-law.

"Now that they're gone, we can get to the good stuff. Do you still want to look at the albums?"

Nodding her head, Skye's smile matched the other woman's.

"Sounds fantastic."

"Wonderful, let's get some cookies and tea then we can pull them out."

Ten minutes later, the two women were settled in on the couch as Glenda pulled up the first album.

"These are some of my favorites of my son and the rest of the family over the years. He takes a pretty good photo."

"I've noticed, makes me kind of envious."

"You're a beautiful girl, Skye and a great match for my son; which reminds me, before the two of you leave, I'd like to get a photograph of the two of you together."

Skye smiled, feeling wowed by the request.

"I'd like that, as long as I could get a copy."

"I'll make sure you take a whole pack of pictures home. Now, let's look at the ones that have been taken."

The first picture was of a newborn Antoine in his mother's arms with his father sitting on the edge of the bed with his arm around his wife's shoulder.

The next couple pictures were of the first few months he was at home, smiling in each of them and they made Skye smile.

"He really was a cute baby and even then, his smile steals hearts."

"Sounds like my son but you're the one who has stolen his."

The brunette couldn't help blushing at the comment.

The next album was full of embarrassing photos that mothers think are adorable.

"Oh gosh, that better be chocolate cake on his face and not something else."

The thought caused Skye to shudder.

Glenda nodded; she thought the same when the photo was taken.

Then there were pictures from her boyfriend's naked phase which caused her to laugh as there was genuine proof of the stories.

She grabbed a cookie from the plate and took a bite.

As they continued to look at pictures, she noticed a blonde girl in many of them especially as Trip got older.

"Glenda, who is that?"

Looking where Skye was pointing, she identified the girl.

"Oh, that's Sharon Carter. She's one of Antoine's oldest and closest friends. Her aunt, Peggy, has been a family friend and knew my father, Gabe for years. She's a sweetheart but isn't anyone's doormat."

"I think Trip's mentioned her before but we've never met."

"You will at the party because the Carters are invited. Unfortunately, Peggy is no longer with us so this the first Christmas she doesn't have her aunt. Though, I think meeting you will help. She's been teasing him for months."

"I'll look forward to it then. Anyone important to Trip is worth meeting."

An hour and a half later, the men had returned with bags in hand. Ben and Trip carried them into the kitchen and put the things away before joining the women in the living room.

Looking around, Trip let out a groan as he noticed the albums.

"Really, mom? There was no reason to show Skye those."

Skye got up from the couch and walked up to her boyfriend where she wrapped her arms around him in a hug.

"You were a cute kid, Trip; that's nothing to be ashamed of. I wish I had someone take those kinds of pictures of me."

Looking down at his girlfriend, Trip kissed her forehead.

"Alright you two, it's getting late and we have a long day tomorrow getting ready for the party."

The couple said goodnight then headed upstairs to Trip's room.

"You ready for the craziness that is the prep for the annual Triplett/Jones Holiday Party?"

Skye smirked.

"As ready as I'm gonna be."

Two days later, Skye found herself standing in the Tripletts' living room and being introduced to various family members and family friends. She could see why her boyfriend loved the people in the room.

"Hey Skye, come with me. There's someone I really want you to meet."

The brunette was curious as she followed her boyfriend over to two older gentlemen.

"Grandad, Uncle Luke…this is my girlfriend Skye. Skye, this is my Grandad Gabe Jones and my uncle, Luke Jones."

Both men smiled at her.

"It's wonderful to meet the both of you."

"It's our pleasure to meet the woman that makes our boy smile brighter than the sun."

Skye couldn't help blushing at the compliment.

The brunette wasn't the only one, so was her boyfriend.

"Uncle….."

"It's the truth, Antoine."

As her boyfriend started to discuss the merits of making comments like that, his granddad gestured her closer.

"Come find me when my grandson is busy, I have a few stories I think you'd like to hear."

He smiled mischievously at her nod.

Deciding to save her boyfriend, she tapped him on the shoulder.

"Let's go get something to drink, Trip."

He nodded at her then grinned at his uncle before taking her hand and leading her away.

When the couple got there drinks, Trip was about to say something when they were interrupted.

"Merry Christmas, Trip. Come give your favorite blonde a hug."

Skye watched as the unknown woman hugged her boyfriend before realizing that it must be his friend, Sharon.

"Hey girl. It's great to see you. You're looking good."

"You're such a charmer and you've seen me on my better days. This isn't it but it's good enough."

Then she turned to the brunette and smirked.

"You've been holding out on me, Trip. There's no way she's your girlfriend…she's too out of your league for you."

"You must be Sharon. It's really great to meet you."

"I'm happy that I finally got to meet you as well. We'll need to have a day out to get better acquainted."

A cough caught the trio's attention.

They looked over to a tall and blond man.

"Skye, this Trip's good friend and my boyfriend, Steve Rogers."


	4. Understanding and Until Next Time

**Disclaimer: **I don't own AoS

Skye looked Steve over.

He was around the same height at her boyfriend but with a little more muscle mass but his smile wasn't as great as her boyfriend's though she might be biased.

"It's great to meet you, Skye. It is nice to finally put a face to the person that Trip's told us about."

"Wonderful to meet you as well. I hope its all good things."

"Of course, even if it's with a goofy face every time he talks about you."

Sharon couldn't help grinning at her friend.

Before Trip could respond, his mother approached the group.

"Ah, Sharon and Trip there you are. I need to borrow the two of you for a moment."

Trip looked over at his girlfriend.

"You good, babe?"

Skye nodded.

"Yeah, I'll take the time to get to know Steve here."

Her boyfriend and Steve shared look before he was herded away by his mother.

"So, let's take our drinks and find somewhere to sit down."

Skye followed the tall blond into the living room and over to one of the couches.

"They can be overwhelming, don't you think?"

The brunette looked over at Steve.

"The Tripletts and Joneses, I mean."

She thought about it for a moment then nodded her head.

"As the last person to be introduced to the family, I understand what it's like. You feel out of place but it seems like they have some kind of radar for that thing so they can change it."

Laughing at the comment, she had to agree.

"You're right. It only lasted for a few minutes until Glenda hugged me."

"She's good at that, giving hugs."

The pair took a sip of their respective drinks.

"In all seriousness though, I get what it feels like especially when you're not used to it, used to the energy and emotion that the entire family seems to have in spades. Sharon's just as much a part of this as Trip but you and I, come from the outside. So, we need to stick together as much as I love Sharon and Trip."

"Thanks Steve, I appreciate that."

It was nice to know that there was someone who understood what she was feeling and told her that it was okay to feel that way.

"Now, knowing Trip for as long as I have, I bet he hasn't told you his more embarrassing stories. Well, as his friend, it's my duty to share some of my favorites."

Skye grinned. As much as she loved her boyfriend, he did seem to come off as too perfect sometimes.

"One time, Trip and our friend Thor, parents are big fans of mythology, lost a bet to our other friend, Natasha. So they had to let her dress them up and wear the outfits out in public while saying that it was their idea whenever they ran into someone they knew which happened a lot. Of course, what they don't know is that she planned having those people in the places she knew our friends would go."

Skye couldn't help laughing as she imagined what her boyfriend must have had to wear.

"Looks like you two are getting along."

Sharon grinned then turned to Trip.

"I told you that you had nothing to worry about."

Shaking his head as he grinned, Trip moved to sit on the arm of the couch next to Skye before stealing a kiss.

Skye leaned against her boyfriend's side and smiled up at him.

The party was great and Skye enjoyed hearing the stories about her boyfriend; the ones that were embarrassing to the ones that made her adore him even more. She was glad that he brought her.

Now though, she was ready to go to bed but she was helping clean up first.

"That's the last of it, Thank you Skye. Why don't you head up stairs and I'll send along Antoine shortly."

"Are you sure, Glenda?"

The older woman nodded her head and made a shooing gesture with her hands.

Doing as she was told, Skye said goodnight to the others before making her way up stairs to the room that she had been staying in for the last several days.

Upstairs, she removed her make up before changing into her pajamas.

Skye was brushing her hair when her boyfriend came into the room and wrapped his arms around her from behind.

"Did you enjoy yourself today?"

Placing the brush down, she turned around in his arms and wrapped her own around him while looking up at him.

"I had a wonderful time. Everyone was so great and nice, I really enjoyed meeting them."

Trip smiled at her words then kissed her forehead.

"They really enjoyed meeting you too. I told you that you had nothing to worry about."

"Yeah, you did. I'm glad that I was proven wrong."

Skye reached up and pulled him into a kiss.

"Mmm….I love my family but I'm looking forward to getting home tomorrow."

She smirked.

"Why? Are you that excited to do dinner with Grant and Jemma?"

Trip gave her an unimpressed look.

"While dinner with friends is great, I'm lookin' forward to getting you myself."

It had only been three days but she missed being intimate with her boyfriend; whether that was having sex or showering together.

"Well….we'll have a few hours to ourselves before we're due at their apartment for dinner. I'm sure we can make them count."

Skye received a kiss for that idea.

"The sooner we head to bed, the sooner we can make that happen."

The couple headed to bed with a couple more kisses exchanged.

The next morning, Skye felt sad to be leaving because she adored the time that she spent with the Tripletts.

Seeing the look on his girlfriend's face, Trip hugged her.

"We'll be back before you know it and my parents will come out to visit to."

"I know, Trip."

She kissed his cheek before finishing up packing.

Breakfast that morning had been delightful and Glenda had given her the promised stack of photos which earned the older woman a hug.

Trip grabbed the bags and head downstairs with Skye following.

"You can come any time you want, dear."

Glenda smiled, sure that her son was going to be making an expensive purchase before long.

"Thank you for having me. Everything was so wonderful."

Skye hugged the other woman.

"Skye, you are such a delight. I can see why my son is in love with you."

Another hug was exchanged.

"Antoine, drive safely and let us know when you get home."

"Of course, mom. I promise."

Trip hugged his mother.

"You've done well, son."

The two men shook hands.

Waving at the Tripletts, the couple got into their car and began the long drive home.


End file.
